AL-KHOBAR: For many Gulf companies, artificial intelligence solutions are failing to catch on not because of some weakness in the technology, but because corporate leaders are often too afraid to fully adopt these tools.
In boardrooms across the region, executives are pitching fully functional AI prototypes. But, more often than not, boards hesitate. One asks if the system is too risky. Another wonders about audit exposure.
The result? Delays, confusion and abandoned innovation.
Two recent reports echo this challenge. A January 2025 McKinsey study found that while nearly all companies are investing in AI, just 1 percent consider themselves truly AI mature, citing leadership hesitation and a lack of risk readiness as key barriers.
Similarly, research from HFS highlights how firms often get stuck in “pilot purgatory” due to internal innovation blockers and a failure to scale AI beyond proof-of-concept demos.
